The Love He Squirreled Away (10 page)

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“I know what you found,” Soren interrupted Anson and took a deep breath. “Where’s the gun?”

“We sent it to the labs for analysis, along with fiber and blood samples.”

Soren knew some of those blood samples had been Daniel’s. He struggled to control his anger, his reason telling him Anson acted according to procedure. Even so, the wolf inside wanted to shake the man for being so foolish as to even doubt Daniel.

Realizing he was moments away from doing something he’d regret, Soren turned his back on Anson. “I’m going upstairs to see my mate and my pups. Liam should be here any moment now. Let me know when he arrives.”

Anson murmured an agreement as Soren headed toward the staircase. The scent of blood still lingered in the air, making him sick to his stomach. The entire area smelled of death, and even if Carlie’s body was no longer there, Soren could almost see it through the traces it had left behind. It got worse when he reached the first story of the house. There he could sense Daniel’s blood, too, mingling with his pups’ abject fear and confusion.

He focused on the knowledge that Daniel and the pups were okay.

As soon as he reached the room, he noticed the guards standing at the door. “Good job, men,” he said. “Thank you for protecting my mate.”

“Yes, Alpha,” one of them said. They looked uncomfortable, and Soren knew their presence there wasn’t due strictly to Daniel’s protection.

Gritting his teeth, Soren entered the room and closed the door behind himself. He found Daniel on the bed with the pups, so motionless he almost seemed asleep. He was naked, and Soren’s blood boiled with fury at the realization that no one had bothered to bring his mate any clothing.

Soren sat on the edge of the bed and pressed his hand to Daniel’s shoulder. He knew better than to believe his mate was truly
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slumbering. The pups were, indeed, sleeping soundly, much to Soren’s relief, but not so with Daniel.

“Why would anyone do something like that?” Daniel asked in a hollow voice. “Why would they hurt her?”

“I wish I knew, baby,” Soren answered. Carlie had meant so much to him as well. God, he couldn’t believe she was gone. But he’d seen the moment of her death in Daniel’s mind. The mate bond didn’t work as a continuous stream of images or thoughts, but in moments of intense emotions, it sometimes happened that the two mates could see the same things. Soren almost wished it wouldn’t have been the case this time. The memory would be forever branded in his mind, even if it didn’t belong to him.

“I called Liam and Shiloh. They’ll be coming, too,” he told his mate.

“God.” Daniel sobbed. He turned to face Soren, tears streaming down his face. “They’ll hate me, too. I disappointed everyone. I couldn’t help her.”

“Oh, Dani.” Soren hugged his mate tight. He’d have loved to say no one blamed Daniel, but it wasn’t true. Even so, Soren would make everyone see the truth. He would not stand for his mate to receive such treatment.

His pups must have sensed his presence, as they awoke and started to demand attention. Soren broke away from his mate and hugged his children. Gratitude and love flooded him as he played with them. He’d been so close to losing the triplets as well. If not for Daniel, they’d surely have been killed.

“Thank you, Dani,” he said. “Thank you for saving them.”

Daniel began to cry even harder, and the pups forwent their focus on Soren in order to comfort the other man. They climbed on top of him, licking his face. Slowly, their calming influence did what Soren didn’t know how to do, and Daniel’s crying subsided.

Wordlessly, Soren took his clothes off and shifted into his wolf form. His mate did the same, and together with the pups, they cuddled
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together in a big heap of fur. In spite of the tragedy, Soren felt comforted by the way his children accepted Daniel with no hesitation.

He didn’t know how long they lay there together. At one point, the pups fell asleep once again, twitching in their slumber as they dreamed things undoubtedly too awful for their young minds to process. Soren was only grateful they hadn’t seen their mother’s gruesome ending.

After a while, Daniel fell into slumber as well, and Soren jumped out of the bed. He’d have liked to stay with his mate, but his duties as an Alpha called. He needed to take care of funeral formalities for Carlie and find out who could have done this.

He shifted back into his legged form and pulled his clothes on.

After brushing a kiss to his mate’s forehead, he left the room. He briefly stopped in front of the doorway and glared at the guards. “I want clothes and food delivered here, and if my mate wishes to leave, he will not be stopped. I won’t have Daniel treated like a criminal in his own home.”

One of the men opened his mouth, obviously intending to protest, but Soren growled at him. The wolf thought better of his original plan and nodded. “Yes, Alpha. At once.”

Soren turned on his heel and headed downstairs. Anson intercepted him just as he was about to go outside. “Alpha, Liam’s here.”

Soren forced himself to remain calm. He wasn’t looking forward to this meeting. Liam was his friend, but Carlie’s brother. Soren knew Liam had never quite agreed with Carlie’s decision to be the mother of Soren’s children. Perhaps the other wolf would blame Soren for her death, or worse, blame Daniel. Soren admitted he had his own share of guilt, but he would not allow Liam to hurt Daniel.

Liam entered the living room, and Soren met him halfway. Liam’s dark expression didn’t look very encouraging, but Shiloh followed behind the other wolf. Perhaps the swan could help temper Liam a bit.

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Soren opened his mouth to greet his friend, but he never got the chance. Liam directed a punch at him, growling angrily. Soren could have probably ducked, but he stood and took it, knowing Liam needed the violent relief. “You were supposed to protect her,” Liam shouted.

“You were supposed to care for her, and now she’s gone.”

Soren waited while his friend ranted, until he got fed up. He lifted his hand and simply said, “Enough. I understand your pain, but this won’t help. You’re in my house, and you will respect it.”

He hated ordering Liam around like this, especially now, but he couldn’t allow the other wolf to undermine his authority, not with his pack already in turmoil. Liam seemed to want to say something else, but Shiloh placed a hand on his shoulder. Liam took a deep breath and quieted down.

“Alpha, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Shiloh said formally.

“Thank you, Shiloh,” Soren answered. “Did Brody and Carson come along?”

“Carson stayed behind to watch the children, but Brody should be here any moment now,” the swan replied.

As if summoned by Shiloh’s words, Brody entered the room.

Seeing his brother here one more time gave Soren a surreal feeling.

“Hey, Soren,” he greeted. “How’s Daniel? The pups?”

Soren offered his sibling a smile he didn’t feel. “Thankfully, they’re all right. Daniel is still shaken but recovering. Follow me. We need to talk.”

Soren led the two wolves and the swan into his office at the ground floor. There were still many guards around, and Soren ushered them off with a wave of his hand. Finally, they were alone. Soren sat on an armchair and gestured his guests to sit down as well.

As they silently obeyed, Soren began to speak. “First of all, I’m sorry for this, Liam. If I’d known this would happen, I’d have never left home.”

His meetings with his father had taken much longer than he’d expected, with them needing to hammer down a new policy for their
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dealings with other nations. Unfortunately, his absence had allowed their enemies to attack. Soren didn’t know if he’d ever be able to forgive himself for this.

Liam nodded and squeezed his mate’s hand. After a few seconds, he said, “I know that. I know you cared for her. Do we know who could have done it?”

Soren decided to take a plunge. “From what Daniel saw, five men were involved. Anson discovered traces of their car behind the mansion. But even with that, the pack is blaming Daniel.”

Liam gaped. “Daniel? But… how? Why?”

Soren found the reaction encouraging. “Daniel pulled out his gun to fight the intruders. It was found, and it’s quite incriminating, given that Carlie was shot. The lab is still studying the evidence. I can of course tell you what I felt through Daniel.” He leaned against the armchair, feeling suddenly drained. “It depends on whether or not you choose to believe me.”

Liam said nothing, so Soren proceeded to explain everything he’d sensed coming from his mate, Daniel’s anxiety, his trip to see his doctor, the fire, coming back to the house and finding the strange men there. Even if Soren hadn’t actually been there, their bond allowed him to know everything that had happened in the house.

When he finished, Brody and Shiloh looked distinctly troubled, and Liam even more so. “Can I ask why is it that Daniel survived when Carlie didn’t?” Liam asked.

“Liam,” Shiloh bit out, “you can’t possibly believe Dani hurt your sister.”

The couple shared a look, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out they were communicating telepathically. Soren was concerned for them. If Liam did doubt Daniel’s innocence, his relationship with his mate would be very strained.

Thankfully, Shiloh seemed to realize how difficult the entire situation was for Liam. He wrapped his arms around the wolf and
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hugged him. Soren nodded at Brody and gestured for them to leave the office. The two needed a moment alone.

As he closed the door to the office, Soren sighed deeply. “God, what a disaster.”

“I hate to say it, but he has a point.” Brody gave Soren a serious look. “How come Daniel lived to even tell the tale, let alone save the pups?” When Soren glared at him, Brody lifted his hands. “Don’t glower at me. I know Daniel didn’t do anything. It’s just strange.”

Soren had to admit he felt the same. As much as he admired his mate, he realized five guys with guns could have easily taken out Daniel, if they’d killed Carlie. And this was just one of the reasons for the suspicions on Daniel. For an outsider, Carlie might have seemed an obstacle in Daniel’s way. Soren knew that the two had been great friends, but others might have thought their polite relationship to be only a mask.

As he thought this, Daniel’s voice drifted in his mind.
“Soren,
could you ask them to come see me?”
He sounded tired, sad, and ashamed.
“I need a word.”

“Are you sure, baby? I don’t want you to strain yourself further.”

“I’m sure.”
Bitter laughter floated over their connection.
“My
tiredness doesn’t matter, Soren. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Soren mentally sighed but didn’t question his mate.
“All right,
Dani. I’ll talk to them now.”
He directed his attention to Brody.

“Let’s go see my mate. I’m sure he has the answers to your questions.”

Soren knocked at the door of the office. A few moments later, a red-eyed Shiloh opened it and gave him a tremulous smile. “Hey.”

“Hey. Dani wants to talk to you guys, if you’re willing.”

Liam appeared from behind Shiloh and nodded. “Yes, that’s a good idea.”

He seemed calmer now, so Soren didn’t feel as apprehensive as he did before. He led his companions up the staircase and toward the guest room, feeling thankful they weren’t forced to pass the nursery
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on the way. Liam couldn’t have missed the place where Carlie’s body had been, but at least they weren’t forced to go by the area where she’d died.

They reached the room in silence. Daniel was waiting in the doorway. At one point, he’d been provided with clothing, but he still looked as anxious as ever. Soren couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to Daniel’s cheek.
“Doing okay?”

Daniel offered him a weak smile.
“Much better now.”
He turned toward the others. “Hello. It’s a great pleasure to see you all, even if the circumstances leave a lot to be desired. Please, come in.”

Soren realized his mate was retreating behind his mask of formality again but couldn’t do anything about it right now. He hooked his arm together with Daniel’s and stepped inside the room.

Their friends followed, while Soren briefly left his mate’s side to check on his pups. He was happy to see they were sleeping safely once more.

Shiloh hugged his friend, and Daniel allowed it for a brief moment. After that, he broke away from Shiloh and started speaking.

He told the same story Soren had experienced, but with more detail than he’d have ever remembered. Finally, he got to the point that bothered them all.

“The man said his boss forbade them from hurting me. I can’t imagine why, though.” Daniel bit his lip, looking more and more anxious. “I suppose…I suppose it must mean these intruders were hired by someone who knows me.”

“And cares about you,” Brody added.

Daniel’s gaze shot toward Brody. His shoulders slumped as he nodded. “And cares about me,” he repeated.

“Who else knew you were supposed to be away?” Shiloh asked softly. “My guess is that the person in question must have timed the attack so that you wouldn’t be around when it happened.”

That was a good point. “Well, my family, my doctor, and some of the guards here, I guess. Carlie, Soren. It wasn’t exactly a secret.”

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“It couldn’t have been a wolf,” Brody said decidedly. “Do you think your parents told anyone?”

“I–I don’t know.” Daniel stammered. His eyes widened. “I haven’t even called them to let them know about all this.”

Soren considered his mate’s reply. He hated what he was about to say, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. “Well, don’t. I agree with Brody. There’s always the possibility that a wolf might have tried to hurt Carlie just to make it look like you did it. In that case, though, they wouldn’t have gone against the pups. They probably wouldn’t have directed those men to spare you, either. It has to be someone connected to you personally. For the moment, we have to keep them uninformed.”